Isn’t it the same as with every other entertainment system? I grew up with a big brother and a little sister. We only had one PS1, later one X360. We could either play in co-op, or take turns. Sometimes my father would also play on the console, and we’d do something else in the meantime.
What’s different about the Switch? It’s an entertainment system. You insert the game, you play. I don’t have one, but I’m pretty sure it allows for different accounts to be created and each have their own save file, so there’s no need to buy multiple consoles/multiple copies of the same game. You can either play on the go, or hook it to the TV and play with the bigger screen. You are not forced to play party games just because you have a bigger screen, and you are not forced to treat it like a “personal device” just because you are playing on the smaller screen (I also despise the idea of “personal device” for kids: learning to share games is a very important lesson for kids).
Yeah you can have accounts on it but a little different to usual. You launch a game from the home screen then decide who is launching it. For the most part it’s then separate games - however Animal Crossing has one main game then the other accounts on the device simply access the same island like playing multiplayer - but in turns. It’s fucking weird.
Animal Crossing is a special case (and one that made a lot of people angry back when the game released).
One console is tied to one “island”, which means all accounts on the same switch play in the same town. Each has got their own house and inventory, and can contribute to the island in some ways…
But only the main account, who started the save, is “resident representative”, which means they’re the only one who can build or relocate stuff, and who can start community projects needed for the island to progress.
So yeah, all other players have an inferior experience. Which is a bit of a baffling design for a family game such as this.
We got a switch when it first came out, that was the only switch we had as a family for a while. It was shared just like any other console. Games like Mario Kart are just as playable on one switch as they are on prior platforms, if you buy more controllers.
Eventually, as the kids got older, we got them switch lites so they could play games on their own. Physical cartridges are definitely sharable, the only catch is that (of course) you can only play one copy at a time and some games have an online/group play component that you can’t experience with one cartridge. So, for instance, Animal Crossing has one island per switch, so if you have two switches in the household you could swap the cart back and forth and both switches can play the game by swapping the cartridge, but characters from one can’t visit the other unless both games are running at the same time. We have bought an embarrassing number of Animal Crossing carts.
Digital copies are tied to a Nintendo account. You can only have one “primary” switch attached to the account. That Switch will be able to run the games on the account without phoning home first. If that account is logged into other switches, they do get access to the games, but only if the non-primary switch has internet access to validate that the game is not being played by any other switch on the account. (I ran into this issue whe I wanted to play the BOTW DLC on a second switch on airplanes; I ultimately had to create a second account to buy it a second time on that switch to prevent it from phoning home).
Digital copies also download the entire game into storage, while physical copies have the game in cartridge ROM and much less is stored locally. Getting a Digital copy of a large game might fill up most of your storage. This is why I still prefer cartridges, especially now that my kids are older and don’t lose them anymore.
How is it affordable? It’s not, we eat a lot of ramen.
Once an account is set up on a switch your kids will not need to remember password to access it. From what I recall the only time you might have to recall the password is to add funds to the account to buy games on the shop.
There is a companion parental control app that allows you limit screen time or access hours and filter games by age rating. You’ll still have full access to the console through a quick passcode.
You only really need an account to get DLC, but I suppose it’s necessary these days. If you only have one switch for the family than you can make that account yourself. The kids would not have to have their own online accounts until they want to pay for their own content. (As I recall, Nintendo requires additional verification steps for accounts for under 13s, anyway. I think they require a $1 fee just to “prove” an adult approves the account.).
And one thing I forgot is that if there are DLC/digital copies active on a primary switch, all accounts can use it. So you can install those and anyone can play. Then, if they ever get their own devices and let you log in and download all that content, they will be able to use it, subject to phone-home provisions. Unless they buy their own copies on their own accounts – then they will be able to use the DLC without phoning home.
Do you play the same games together often? In that case unless it is a couch co-op game (some are) you would need a second switch with the same game.
You can have multiple profiles on a switch and can share games between profiles on that switch. If it’s physical you can just play that game on any switch on any profile (just whoever has the cartridge). If it’s digital, if you buy it on the primary profile of a certain switch (make sure you do this) then all the other profiles on that switch can play that game too. If you want to share digital games between different switches it’s more complicated, but it requires cloud syncing and some other shenanigans I couldn’t explain.
They are all portable but you might be talking about the switch light which doesn’t have removable controllers. If you have a tv one for everyone, the you either need the controllers from the other switches or extra controllers (joy con style or normal controller style) to play together. Some games can be a lot of fun to play on the tv together. Check how many people a game can play.
I appreciate that you listed off various ways to share games all in one place. Many guides I have seen handle the methods piecemeal, and I thought they overlapped morw.
Since it sounds like you are just getting into this, it may be helpful to know that Nintendo has confirmed that there will be a 2nd version of the device and it is likely to have full backwards compatibility (meaning it will play all of the games from version 1).
The release dates for this device are likely to be announced soon.
So if you can wait, you could either get the newest version or you could get the current version for a big discount.
One but buy extra controllers so 4 people can play Mario Kart, etc together.
Edit: btw I had the same confusion over the switch which caused me not to buy it for years. Last year someone visiting with their child expressed the same confusion.
If we’re talking about actual need, the answer is zero. The Nintendo Switch does not feature on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
But how many OP should buy depends on how much they’re willing to spend. One is enough for family games and taking turns. If everyone wants their own to play head-to-head multiplayer, yeah you’ll have to shell out for multiple consoles.
Helldivers 2 is an awesome game for this as it’s very cooperative and is also a shooter. Though you do need either a pc or a ps5 for it so I’m not sure if you can play it.
First thing that comes to mind is Warframe. It’s a co-op third person looter-shooter, with full crossplay, so you can all party up across your platforms. It’s all very controller friendly, with lots of shotguns, SMGs, melee weapons and space magic that are all really forgiving of imprecise aim. It cares less about twitch reflexes and more about movement.
The scifi setting and “space ninja” aesthetic may or may not be to your taste, although I promise if you take the time really sink into the world it’s actually one of the most refreshingly different and unique scifi settings out there. There’s a lot of weirdness, but as you dig deeper into the story that weirdness all makes sense. And, like, it’s the good kind of weird if you get me? Stuff that makes you go “Holy fuck I want to know what the deal with that is!”
It does have a lot of MMO elements, so it can get grindy at times, but in my experience it’s a really solid game for hanging out and chilling on Discord together. Plus the game itself is free, with no paid DLC or add-ons, and for an adult with an income a few bucks here and there skips a LOT of grind, especially if you check out the third party market website where players will sell you a lot of the rare drops you’ll want for less than a dollar.
Added bonus, it’s made by the original developers of Unreal Tournament, Digital Extremes (there are actually a bunch of UT references squirelled away in the game).
In case you’re looking for something that may fit your criteria…
Warzone 2100 is an amazing game. It’s what gets me to replay the game every so often. An RTS, though I think RTT (Real Time Tactics) would be more accurate here. Choice of units matters (for ex: a main force of anti tank and anti infantry units, an auxiliary force of artillery units, another force of air support… Using these tactically is the key to victory). A special commander unit exists that increases your forces effectiveness and determines the course or movement/attack. When managed right, units obtain ranks, increasing their effectiveness and survivability. These units can be recycled to reclaim their ranks and generate better units with those ranks. You can slow down the game (and practically pause it), speed it up as well.
There’s two types of missions in it: the main map, which expands multiple times. As you progress through the missions, the map expands, you unlock new technology (buildings, units, etc), you get to use the base to defend against enemy attacks multiple times.
The other type of mission consists of using your base to send out units to surrounding zones (to reclaim technology, for ex). These surrounding zones are separate maps connected to the base on the main map.
There are 3 campaigns in it. I highly recommend Warzone2100. Oh, and it’s open source these days, and available on multiple platforms.
I’ve already seen Mindustry mentioned, but also an amazing game. It is less RTS and more resource management / tower defense. Also free and available on multiple platforms.
A multi-era multi-conflict first person shooter, with campaigns from the 18th century all the way through to the modern era. Singleplayer, and with tons of weapons, vehicles, and factions to choose from.
Basically, a game much too big and ambitious to ever be made.
Another z-shooter like Tribes Vengeance. A different company got the rights to the franchise and tried to make a more realistic physics engine approach in the sequel, Tribes Ascend, but it was not as fun imo. The use of the grappler specifically to slingshot yourself up to fast speeds and to change direction without losing speed were key to the enjoyment and strategy in Vengeance that Ascend never managed to replicate.
Also, I love the shooter moba genre. I loved Monday Night Combat and the sequel, Super MNC. It’s a shame those games never took off. I’ve been really enjoying Deadlock so far and can’t wait to see how it turns out. But more games in that genre would be welcome.
A dark souls kind of slow paced combat game, but built for co-op. Except I don’t have any friends who are on the same skill level and schedule.
More broadly, I really want more games that you can play co-op in where the players are vastly different skill levels, but it’s still fun. I don’t know how to solve this.
I can imagine like a game where one person is playing dark souls and the other is playing candy crush, and they interact somehow. Like making matches in one give estus in the other, and killing bosses gives stuff.
Basically I want to play games with my frienda that don’t play the same games, somehow.
The demo is free, basically the full game just with an 8 hour time limit
I wonder if that was the scientifically curated time to get people hooked and addicted. By the way, is that limit of 8 hours total playtime, or like 8 hours per session?
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